Here on Ecorazzi, even animals are celebrities, and very few are as well-known as our groundhog friend, Punxutawney Phil. He’s furry, he’s cute, he works well in front of the camera, and now he may be credited with being one of the first to alert the world to global warming. From the article,

“Dr. Doug Inkley, wildlife biologist with the National Wildlife Federation, has been pondering over Phil’s forecasting track record. He found that in the first 75 years of the 20th century, Phil cast no shadow only four times, which according to folklore meant an early end to winter. But in just the last 25 years of the century, Phil cast no shadow fully eight times, alerting us that winter was coming to an early end, a six fold increase!”

In a day and age where the Bush Administration cannot even read the writing on the wall, a groundhog is pushing forward the debate on climate change. Sure, Phil’s forecasts are about credible as Big Bird’s stock tips, but science is backing up the superstition. Dr Inkley explains, “Wildlife are often the first to feel the effects of climatic changes.â€ With tongue-in-cheek, he adds, â€œPhil would probably be the first to agree that our country needs to develop solutions to global warming fast. Otherwise heâ€™ll be forced to pull up stakes, move north and change his name to Buffalo Bill.”

Hah. Hah. Seriously, Phil, Buffalo rules. I grew up there. I’ll hook you up with Delaware Park — which is much nicer than that cage they’ve got you living in. We’ll talk.

About Michael dEstries

Michael has been blogging since 2005 on issues such as sustainability, renewable energy, philanthropy, and healthy living. He regularly contributes to a slew of publications, as well as consulting with companies looking to make an impact using the web and social media. He lives in Ithaca, NY with his family on an apple farm.